Chapter 28 – Springs; Brakpan The Spirit blows where it will Convent of Our Lady of Mercy Springs On the wind-swept area of the East Rand, known as “The Springs”, Mother General Augustine Geisel procured land from Messrs Rennie and Co. The town had a resident priest, Father Julian Bannister, O.P. who had dedicated his wood-and-iron church to Our Lady of Mercy. But though there were many Catholic families flocking to the gold mines of the Springs, the vast majority knew nothing of their religion, nor in fact of any religion. Many could not even recite the Apostles’ Creed and but few knew the Lord’s Prayer. They had been drawn to the locality by the report of the fabulously rich gold fields and only a sprinkling of some eight or ten persons came to Sunday Mass at the Church of Our Lady of Mercy. At the request of Very Rev Father Bede Jarrett, O.P. Prior Provincial of the English Province, the Sisters obtained leave from Right Rev Bishop David O’Leary, to open a convent at the Springs. By this time so many people had settled in the neighbourhood that the fountains from which the place derived its name had all run dry; so the article was dropped and the growing town was simply called SPRINGS .1 Mother Winifred Simpkins was chosen Superior and given as staff Sisters Praxedis Tutzer, Teresina Ullrich, Inviolata Killermann, Alana Goettlinger and Everista Scharf. Rumour travelled far and wide that at Springs, five minutes walk from Selection Railway Station, a stately convent of vast dimensions to accommodate 200 children had been built. Crowds flocked to see the new building. Alas, the first sod of the convent had not yet been turned; and they found out that Father Bannister had given up his cottage to the Sisters, reserving only one room for himself and that the shed- like church was used as a school house during the week and turned into a chapel of ease on Sundays. As time progressed even Father Bannister’s garage was turned into a class-room. At the back of the tin church was a lean-to which was divided into a classroom for Mother Winifred and her senior students, and a tiny sacristy which was also the resting place of the Blessed Sacrament when the church was used as a school. The church, used in succession each week as a church, parish hall and classrooms, entailed work for the Sisters that can be better imagined than described. The pioneers had arrived on 27 th January 1930 and on 3 rd February school was opened with 25 pupils ranging from the Kindergarten to Matriculation. Father Bannister had arranged with the Municipality that buses should bring the children to and from school at scheduled times: some of them lived five miles or even further away from the convent. This bus service is still available today. The number of children increased rapidly and by the end of the year there were about a hundred on the roll. Mr Fitzsimons of Benoni drew the plan of the new Springs convent; the contract was signed by Mother General Augustine and given to Mr Muldoon 2 on 29 th January 1931. A large double-storeyed building, enclosing three sides of a quadrangle was the result. The frontage of the convent opened on Derby Avenue; the South wing formed the convent proper; the North wing contained the classrooms. Thus the Sisters quitted the presbytery and the church ceased to serve as a school. At a gymnastic display given by the pupils under the direction of Major Collard, V.D., the Mayor, Mr Geo Sutten M.P.C., and later M.P., congratulated the Sisters upon the minute precision of the Swedish Exercises, including tableaux of pyramids and fans and even a Baby Percussion Band. He remarked that it did not seem more than twelve months since he had walked with Father Bannister over that same site where there was then nothing but grass and sand. Now, in 1934, he said the convent stands as “the finest institute in Springs”. Two hundred and thirty children took part in the display and another two hundred 1 Established as a colliery at first, it existed in the 1890s as a source of coal for the Netherlands South African Railway Company, but it became a township in 1902. 2 Father of Rev L Muldoon, O.M.I. were engaged in games. Scholars started to come from Brakpan and Nigel so, before long, it was found necessary to consider building convents in these two towns to relieve the overflow of pupils at Springs. When Father David Donohue, O.P. was parish priest the old house was replaced by the present church facing Derby Avenue. This building was designed and the work supervised by Rev Father Humbert Smetrys, O.S.B. With its 70 foot tower at the entrance and its dome 48 feet high and 32 feet in diameter, resting on sixteen columns and arches it was, from the architectural point of view, one of the finest of its kind on the Reef at the time. In October 1935 Bishop O’Leary blessed the church in the presence of representatives from Johannesburg, Pretoria and all the Reef towns, including fifteen priests. Very Reverend Father Essex, Principal of the Dominican Priests in South Africa, delivered the address in which he praised the pioneers who had suffered many hardships in establishing the Catholic Faith on the Far East Rand. He complimented Father Donohue, who had laboured to secure the erection of the church, and he thanked the Town Council and the Public of Springs for the support they had given. After the Pontifical High Mass a luncheon for a hundred guests was spread at the Clarendon Hotel and at which Bishop O’Leary presided. Mother Winifred wrote to the Mother House saying that, whereas at their arrival in Springs there were not more than about a dozen people at Sunday Mass, there was now a congregation of nearly three hundred. Many of the children taught the catechism they learned in school to their parents at home. The parish was very scattered, extending over a radius of more than 25 kilometres. Mrs Murray, sister of Father Mark Flynn, C.Ss.R., came every day from Brakpan to teach Afrikaans to all the Standards at the Convent. Her services were gratis. Nor did she ever come empty-handed. There was always a basket of eggs for the cook or scones for the morning tea, or fresh fruit from her garden. And she declared she loved every minute of the day when she was helping the nuns. Rain or shine made no difference to her arrival. The Convent School continued to grow so that adequate facilities had to be provided as well as substantial additions made to the buildings. In 1964 the entire School was deeply shocked to learn that the loved headmistress, Sister M. Nivard Schneider, passed away during the June vacation. Though in poor health for years Sister knew no idle moment and always administered her school efficiently. She was planning for a holiday in Europe with her family and while briefly visiting her one sister at Cambridge Convent, East London, prior to departure, she collapsed and was admitted to the “Mater Dei” Hospital. However, God had decreed that all efforts to save the precious life would not succeed. She left behind her an example of having carried the cross of Christ faithfully to the end. In June 1964 the Most Rev Father Aniceto Fernandes, Master General of our Order, visited South Africa, mainly to attend the solemn opening of St Peter’s Seminary for African Clergy at Hammanskraal, which was staffed by Dominican Fathers. The Master General also called on a few of our communities. Father General addressed the Sisters, speaking in Italian while his Assistant, Father Hilary Carpenter, interpreted for him. Father General stressed the importance of our vocation as apostles and missionaries and of the need to let all our apostolic endeavours be the outcome of a deep interior life. From as far afield as Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp, Potgietersrus, Ermelo and Welkom teachers and pupils converged on the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Springs, to take part in an inter-convent festival of speech and drama and music that was held for the first time in 1965. The idea of such an annual event was originally the brain-child of our Mother General Fromunda Zimmermann, based in the hope that the pupils of the Sisterhood might meet together in a love and desire for some of the better things of life – good music, good literature and a general appreciation of the Arts. The idea was taken up and brought to fruition by Sister Emmanuel Hamilton-Brown whose musicianship and activities in speech training and drama are well known in Springs. Of the best adjudicators on the Rand were invited to these festivals. The criticisms offered by these judges were always constructive and artistically sound. These annual gatherings were also considered a great contribution to the cultural life of Springs. The “Fons Virtae” Institute Courses for young religious were inaugurated at the Good Shepherd Convent, Johannesburg on 5 th February 1968. A considerable number of our Sisters have benefited from these instructions. In the same year Springs Convent also started a club for teenage girls called the “Links Club”. The aim was to help members look beyond themselves and their own little world, to the needs and problems of those around them; to enable them to channel their energies along creative lines and to show our young people how to put their idealism to use.